Equifax credit agency snags TrustedID
The credit-data giant has acquired the identity protection company for a reported $30 million.
Equifax, one of the three largest U.S. credit-reporting agencies, has acquired TrustedID, which specializes in identity protection.
The terms were not disclosed in Monday's announcement, but AllThingsD pegs the price at about $30 million.
Palo Alto, Calif.-based TrustedID, which was founded in 2004, will become part of Equifax Personal Solutions, its direct-to-consumer business unit.
Equifax's interest in the smaller company is threefold: its technology is robust, its existing partner relationships (for example, its exclusive deal with AARP) are coveted, and Equifax's own credit and identity products could use reinforcement. TrustedID's data protection abilities reach far, from social media to snail mail.
"In today's digital economy and culture, Americans are becoming increasingly aware of identity, reputation and privacy issues," TrustedID CEO Scott Mitic said in a statement.
Equifax has previously indicated that it sees the personal data security market as a growth opportunity, and has made investments -- in both acquisitions (such as Anakam in 2010) and product development -- accordingly.
This story originally posted as "Equifax acquires TrustedID" on ZDNet.